The hazardous effects of tobacco use and environmental smoke are well documented. As a result, a clear need has developed for reducing the incidence of smoking. One of the principal problems associated with reducing the incidence of smoking is the fact that smokers generally acquire a dependency on a certain level of nicotine in their blood stream. Cigar and cigarette smokers also develop a habit of manually manipulating the cigar or cigarette. In addition, cigar smokers are known to enjoy chewing the end of a cigar.
In the past, various products have been developed that provide nicotine or nicotine substitutes so as to assist smokers in ending their smoking habit. Such devices include products that deliver nicotine and/or its substitutes to the blood via the oral cavity, the nasal cavity or the skin.
Products that deliver nicotine via the oral cavity include gums, tablets or lozenges. Nicotine is released into the oral cavity and subsequently absorbed through the buccal mucosa by chewing the gum or sucking the lozenges. U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,468 to Lichtneckert et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,079 to Talpin et al., disclose chewable tobacco substitute products. U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,605 to Ray et al., discloses oral tobacco substitutes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,544 to Mascarelli discloses a nicotine lollipop. Danish Patent No. WO91/06288 to Anders discloses lozenges and tablets containing tobacco substitutes. These preparations are not cost-effective and do not provide for the manual manipulation that smokers are typically used to. Furthermore, these devices may be swallowed whole, voiding any possible benefit to the user. When swallowed accidentally, these preparations may result in an overdose of nicotine.
Other devices deliver nicotine to the bloodstream via the nasal cavity or the skin. U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,652 to Rose et al., discloses transdermal patches that slowly release nicotine or nicotine substitutes which are then absorbed through the skin. These devices do not provide for oral or manual stimulation to the user and may cause skin irritation. Another product, `Nicotine Nasal Spray` manufactured by Kabi Pharmacia, is sprayed into the nasal cavity. It does not provide manual or oral stimulation and may cause nasal irritation to the user.
Still other devices designed to assist smokers to quit smoking are aimed at satisfying a cigarette smoker's psychological need to manually manipulate the cigarette. These devices include cigarette substitutes that may or may not contain nicotine or nicotine substitutes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,971 to Vieten discloses such a cigarette substitute. These products typically involve complex manufacturing processes and either do not provide substances to reduce the desire to smoke or use a nicotine product that can be swallowed as a whole. In addition, these products cannot be chewed and therefore do not address the need of a cigar smoker to chew on the end of the cigar.
Thus, although several devices are available that provide nicotine or nicotine substitutes, none of the devices specifically addresses a cigar smoker's habit of chewing on the end of a cigar as it is smoked, while allowing the user to remove the cigar from the mouth and manipulate it in the hands. Therefore, what is needed is a device that will not only provide chemicals to suppress the desire to smoke but will also simulate smoking of a real cigar in that it will allow the user to chew the end of the device and will satisfy the psychological need of a smoker to manually manipulate it.